Capstone Project Reflection

Chuuurrrchhhh

1. Describe your immediate experience of this event in sequence of what happened. What is its moment, exigence, time and place, or importance. Try to describe your subjective experiences with awareness and precision. What was it like to be there? Don’t just talk about what happened and what you heard, but what it felt like and your physical sensations and the space and what you saw.  A. This experience was by far the most important for me, and in all honesty, I felt guilty.  I felt guilty because if it wasn’t for me having to record a public event. I would have never known when I was going to step foot in church again.  Yes, I believe in God; however, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve gone to church in the last few years.  The man speaking is Dennis Rouse, the Pastor of my home church, Victory World Church.  October 20th was a perfect first day back for me.  The exigence of Pastor Dennis’ message was on the importance of marriage and family, and foremost trusting in God and believing that He has a plan for your life.  Like any “normal” human being, I lose faith in myself and my abilities, and fail to realize that God has put me here on this earth for a reason.  His plan for my life is much bigger than anything I could ever imagine.  At first I felt uncomfortable, because I was in a familiar yet unfamiliar place.  In spite of my initial uncomfortability, I eventually adapted to my environment, and became at ease with myself.  Once I was able to let go of the nervousness and the unease; the message became clearer and I was able to listen to my pastor, yet reflect on my own life.  One part of the sermon that struck me the hardest, was when Pastor Dennis and his wife Colleen, were reflecting on their child hood, and began to tell the congregation about factors in their lives that caused them to hold onto a lot of unforgiveness or “baggage” as they say, which created a lot of strife in their marriage.  Although I’m not married (yet), their stories were relatable to issues I’ve dealt with in my life, and as I looked around the building I saw that other people within the room were relating to it as well.

2. Walk through the recordings and/ or your notes and describe the experience again, identifying some of its key sonic elements and moments. Go into more detail about those moments. What do you remember about the quality of sound—volume, tone, distance, direction, persistence, gentleness, lightness, resonance? Make up words to describe these moments if you have to.  A. My experience my first day back to church was an AMAZING one.  When Pastor Dennis and Colleen spoke it was almost as if we were sitting down at a dinner table, and speaking on this topic in a conversational manner.  Their message wasn’t condemning but enlightening.  At certain points within the sermon the congregation was laughing, and at others some people silently concurred with a “uhhh hmm” or “yes”. When Pastor Dennis emphasized a certain point his vocal tone rose, nevertheless his voice remained calm and gentle.  The whole time he was speaking, I kept thinking about my Intro to Rhetoric class and how many rhetoricians used gestures and vocal intonation as a way to emphasize a point and persuade.       

3. Now, reflect on the event. Did you like this event? What did you recognize and what was not familiar? What did it remind you of? What are words that you associate with it or stories that it reminds you of?  I loved my event! Especially since that was my first time back to church. A lot of things were unfamiliar to me, including: going back to church, and there was more people than what I last remembered.  On the other hand, Victory use to be my second home years back, and in some ways was comforting although I was extremely nervous.  Going back to church made me realize how much I missed being there, and socializing with all different types of people who attend Victory.

Words I Associate With Church:

calming, presence of the Lord, fellowship, second home, childhood, welcoming, familiar yet unfamiliar

Unusual Enjoyment

1. What kinds of environmental sounds, or soundscape, did you respond to? Was it an urban soundscape, a natural soundscape, or a combination? Walk through the actual recording or your notes and describe the experience step by step, identifying some of its sonic elements and features.
A. I would say my soundscape is a combination of both urban and natural sounds. The elevator and the outdoor music creates a urban sound that is unnatural yet works well with the sound of the natural soundscape. The crickets create their own natural sound and set the tone for what time of the day I was heading into work.  As I stepped out of my car all I could hear is silence.  It felt amazing feeling that I was the only one around.  I was able to clear my head and actually get a chance to listen to the sounds around me.   As I began to walk to my work building, I  immediately began to think about the first day of Senior Seminar, where Professor Hocks asked us to listen to the noise within the room, even when we don’t think there’s any sound, there is! And a lot of times we as fast paced individuals fail to notice.  I immediately pulled out my phone and started recording the sounds around me.  I recorded in my soundscape my initial step on the elevator which you can hear the ringing every time the elevator hits a new floor.   The elevator music was loud yet simultaneously soothing; I could tell that the crickets were communicating with each other, because some sounded loud almost like the elevator music, and others had a quieter and softer chirp.  Although there was a lot going on around me; I was able to hear my feet hitting the brick-laid passageway.  I felt like I was creating a sound effect for a movie, which made my walk to work a little more interesting. 1930’s TV Sound Effects It was JUST me, and the natural and unnatural sounds. It made me realize the importance of being quiet, and listening to the environment/world around me. I was alone and it felt great! Every sound gave me a different yet pleasant feeling.

2. Do you like this soundscape? Why or why not? When did you resonate and feel connections to this soundscape? When did you feel dissonant disconnections? When did you stop listening or tune it out? A. I love my soundscape! Even though it is very simple… I appreciate my soundscape in all its entirety. The fact that I arrived earlier than I usually do to work, and was able to listen to the crickets, and enjoy the soft music that was playing on the elevator uninterrupted was a first for me.  Because I enjoyed being “alone”, I took my time walking to my office building.  I stayed connected with my environment the whole time, because I enjoyed the soothing noises.  It was a very pleasant start to my workday. I even had enough time to take some pictures of the landscape, and enjoy the beauty of the building, and the natural and unnatural sounds in peace. Listening to my soundscape makes me want to relive that peaceful moment again.

3. How do you feel when you hear this soundscape? How would you describe your emotional reactions (annoyed, happy, peaceful, connected or disconnected, etc.)? Your physical reactions (heart speeds up, tenser, relaxed, peaceful, grimacing, hands over ears, moving slower, moving faster, etc.)?A. Hearing my soundscape makes me feel thankful and blessed. Thankful for the fact I’m able to hear these things, and be able to experience those wonderful sounds outside of my home or school environment. I feel blessed, because not everyone can say that they are on their way to work, and can experience some form of stillness before their workday. I thoroughly enjoyed my one on one time with nature outside of my building, and being able to hear the music playing without people talking and making noises around me.

4. What do you recognize in this soundscape? What does it remind you of? Write down words that you associate with it and experiences or stories that it reminds you of.A. The sounds of the crickets reminds me of the stillness and serenity I feel when I’m sitting outside on my patio at night. The sound of the music reminds me of the thing I love so much. The beeping of the elevator ascending from floor to floor, reminds me of the reason why I’m there $$$$$$$$, and how much I love working, and would rather be working than be in school. Arriving to work early gave me a different feeling, because I was able to be alone, and actually hear myself think. It made the corporate world seem natural for once.

Words Associated With My Experience:Soothing, nature, man-made sound, revitalizing, a walk in the woods, quality time with my grandfather, a new experience, natural, unnatural, desolate, me + nature, calm before the storm, beautiful, God’s grandeur, sometimes it’s the simple things in life, exercise, alone, first time experience, relax

Remembering Nelson Mandela

 

1. What type of podcast/audio essay did you choose and respond to? What is its purpose and exigency? What can you discern about its intended audience, based on where you found it and what you heard?
A.  I would describe my podcast as an audio biography on Nelson Mandela’s life.  The purpose and exigence of the podcast is to remember Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy.  I’ve come to the conclusion that Nelson Mandela has made a lasting impact on people’s lives from all over the world, and has brought people together peacefully as one unified group.  The audience is those who follow some of the same belief systems Mandela created or lead.  My podcast is about the struggles Mandela faced throughout his life, and contains some interviews he’s done, as well as interviews from some people who fought with and against him.

2. How does the audio essay use sound both to tell a story and to create an atmosphere? Describe some of its sonic elements and features. Does it use sound effects, urban soundscapes, natural soundscapes, music, a certain kind of voice, or a combination of all these elements? Walk through the actual recording and describe what you notice when, and why. A.  My podcast includes multiple sonic elements for instance; the beginning of the podcast starts out with a news report with music talking about the apartheid policy, and introduces the audience to a speech given by Nelson Mandela on the apartheid policy.  The podcast uses urban and natural soudscapes, music, and multiple interviews and voices from Mandela himself as well as many other people.

3. Do you like everything about the story in this audio essay? Why or why not? When did you resonate and feel connections? When did you feel dissonant disconnections? Did you stop listening or tune it out? Get bored? A. Listening to the podcast was very interesting. I learned a lot more about Nelson Mandela’s life than I knew before.  The saying “you never know what you have until its gone” is true! Knowing that Mandela is no longer here makes me connect with the podcast on an emotional level, because he is and was a great man.  Hearing about all the great things he’s done is amazing, and unforgettable.  The podcast demonstrates that his legacy will continue to live on.

4. How do you feel when you hear this audio essay? What difference does the narrative voice over (NVO) and content presentation make (as compared to just music or voice) in terms of your physical and emotional reactions? A. I was very emotional listening to the podcast.  Hearing his voice, even though I don’t know him personally made  me start to cry.  I’m fortunate that I was able to run into a top of podcast (finally) that is captivating and has a real meaning and purpose.  Whoever created the podcast did an amazing job. It is very professional.  All the music, news announcement, and sound effects work well together to create another experience for listeners almost as if they are physically there.  The presentation for me utilized pathos, ethos, and logos very well.  R.I.P. Nelson Mandela